It is our hypothesis that mediators of the inflammatory response (cytokines) induce increased gut permeability in IBD and that the increase in gut permeability is related to the severity of disease and the degree of inflammatory reponse. Further, the increased gut permeability in IBD, by increasing endo-toxemia, tends to exacerbate and perpetuate the inflammatory bowel disease and its extraintestinal manifestations. In this study we will evaulate the role of cytokins, alterations of gut perm. & the systemic inflammatory response in IBD.